Sahar Chodayari

Sahar Chodayari , internationally also Sahar Khodayari Persian سحر خدایاری, DMG Sahar Ḫodāyārī (born probably 1990 in Qom ; died on September 9, 2019 in Tehran ), was a supporter of the Iranian football club Esteghlal Tehran , who set herself on fire to protest against imminent imprisonment for attending a football game .

Life

Sahar Chodayari wanted to attend the game of her team Esteghlal Tehran on March 12, 2019. The club played in the Asian Champions League against al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates. She had disguised herself as a man to get to the Eizum Azadi Stadium in Tehran. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Shiite clergy banned women from watching men's football matches live in the stadium in 1981. The Iranians should be protected from the raw atmosphere in the stands and from looking at half-naked football players, it is said to justify.

Chodayari got into the stadium and posted a picture of himself in the club's color, dressed in blue, from the stadium on social media. She was then arrested and taken to Gharchak Women's Prison and charged with "insulting public order". She was released on bail until her trial. The trial against her took place on September 2, 2019. The first trial was canceled, but Chodayari learned that she was going to jail for six months. In front of the court, Sahar Chodayari poured a flammable liquid over himself and set himself on fire. 90 percent of the skin burned; she died of her injuries a few days later.

The film

Inspired by the death of Sahar Chodayari, The Break , also known as Zang-e Tafrih , is a short film directed and produced by Navid Nikkhah Azad in 2020 .

Reactions

The captain of the Iranian national soccer team Masoud Shojaei wrote on Instagram : "The self-immolation of a woman who was accused of wanting to watch a soccer game is the result of obnoxious thinking and will be completely incomprehensible to future generations." Esteghlal player Andranik Tejmurjan said, one day a stadium will be named after Sahar Chodayari.

Former Bayern Munich player Ali Karimi called on football fans in Iran to boycott stadiums in protest.

Many Iranians expressed their protest against the discrimination against women in Iran and their horror over Chodayari's death on Twitter under the hashtag #BlueGirl .

FIFA

Many fans demanded that FIFA should finally ban Iran from all international games until women can watch all games. The stadium ban on women violates the FIFA Statutes, which state that discrimination against women is "strictly prohibited".

FIFA said after the death of Sahar Chodayari: "We call again on the Iranian authorities to guarantee the freedom and security of all women involved in this legitimate fight to end the stadium ban on women in Iran." It is deeply regrettable for this tragedy, declared the FIFA. The Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinedschad then told the BBC : "We don't need FIFA's empty words, we want FIFA to exclude Iran from international games."

See also

• Women's rights in Iran

Individual evidence

1. ↑ John Gambrell: Female fan caught sneaking into Iranian soccer match, dies after setting herself on fire. In: USA Today , September 10, 2019 (English). Retrieved September 23, 2019.
2. ↑ Woman is not allowed into the stadium - lights up and dies In: Spiegel Online , September 10, 2019.
3. ↑ Christoph Becker: The "blue girl" is dead. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . Retrieved September 12, 2019 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Nico Horn: She died, but she only wanted to play football. In: The time . September 11, 2019, accessed September 23, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Your death must not be in vain. In: The world . September 11, 2019, accessed September 12, 2019 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} The "blue girl" becomes an icon of protest. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . September 11, 2019, accessed September 12, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Iranian woman burns herself because of stadium ban. In: Deutsche Welle . September 10, 2019, accessed September 12, 2019 .